Top 10 Parental Surprises in Argentina

My parents and I in front of a lake on our way to Alta Gracia.

 

*Written Saturday, July 30th

As I write this, my parents are well on their way back to the US after spending a week in Argentina with me. I struggle with what I should write in this second sentence because there is so much to retell, describe and reflect upon. Thus, I suppose I’ll do a quick run-down of our week’s travels and then include a cultural feature with input from this entry’s “special guests.”

My parents arrived two Fridays ago, the 22^nd, after an all-night flight from Dallas, tired but excited to see me. We swiftly boarded the Manuel Tienda Leon bus that would take us into the city; this is where our collective Argentine adventures begin. My mom wanted to bring her seat to a fully upright position as it had been left reclined by a previous passenger. However, when she pulled up on the seat lever (that apparently was rather supposed to be pushed in), it snapped back down on her finger. HARD. So hard in fact that my mom literally almost chopped off the top of her finger with this minor mishap. This split second dictated the rest of the afternoon’s “activities” as I accompanied her to a hospital where her wound was cleaned, examined and stitched up by a doctor. For anyone reading this who doesn’t know, my mom is a nurse, and thus, this experience was quite an ordeal in and of itself. She had quite a unique opportunity to see an Argentine hospital facility and supplies (or lack thereof). It is certainly true that Argentina’s public healthcare system allows for some great treatment opportunities for people who otherwise could not afford them. However, as my mom so keenly observed in the hospital where she was treated, “Yeah, I was taken care of and the doctor did a good job, but I felt like I could have been in a hospital from the 1950’s!” Later she told me that she should have taken pictures of the emergency room where she was attended to as she said that no one from her workplace would actually believe what she saw and experienced if she only told them. The hospital visit and dinner were the extent of our Buenos Aires exploration on Friday; which was certainly enough for me, not to mention my parents’ exhaustion after a restless overnight flight.

My mom's finger a couple days after she received her stitches. Huge slice through her finger, nail and all.

Saturday we did a tour of the city with highlights walking around la Recoleta, La Boca, and Puerto Madero. In the evening, we headed to Retiro where we boarded our overnight bus to Córdoba and transferred in the morning to Villa General Belgrano. Villa General Belgrano is quite an anomaly in Argentina. A tiny German village at the seat of the Sierras Chicas in Córdoba, it is rumored that individuals who were involved in Nazi activity fled here after WWII. I could certainly see how this might be true as the town is very secluded, and thus, very quaint for a vacation such as ours. We enjoyed a couple of days of short hikes, German food with an Argentine flair, and a day excursion to Alta Gracia. In Alta Gracia about an hour away from VGB, we went to museums honoring Manuel de Falla (infamous Spanish composer) and Gabriel Dubois (infamous French artisit), the UNESCO recognized Jesuit mission built in the 17^th century and the infamous revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s boyhood home. This area of the sierras is widely recognized for its therapeutic effects for people who have respiratory ailments; for these same reasons, Che and de Falla moved to the regions with their families at distinct points in their lives.

View out from Cerro Mirador just outside Villa General Belgrano

Jesuit mission cathedral in Alta Gracia

Wednesday, we traveled to the (if-you-can-believe-it) even more secluded town of La Cumbrecita. This all-pedestrian village is a featured vacation spot for its hiking trails as it sits at the foot of the Sierras Grandes mountain range. Here, we spent a couple of days doing some short hikes, horseback riding and just enjoying life.  Unfortunately our vacation in the tranquil villages of Córdoba had to come to an end and we headed back to Buenos Aires on Friday. Arriving very early on Saturday morning, we made the most of our last day together in the city, visiting the fine arts museum, the Recoleta weekend market and La Casa Rosada (Argentina’s White House equivalent) where we had an excellent tour.  Finally it was time for me to drop off my parents at the airport where we exchanged goodbyes (tearful goodbyes between my mom and I; not surprising for anyone who knows us both) and they began their safe journeys home.

View up from a rock where I relaxed to take in La Cascada after a morning hike

My parents on our horses!

View out over the sierras

 

I asked my parents to share with me the top 10 things that surprised them about Argentina. Here you have those 10 things, ordered by me (and supplemented in some cases with some corresponding things that surprised me about their “conduct/reactions” during their visit):

1.       Dinner hours, which means that my dad almost died when restaurants didn’t open for dinner until, at the earliest, 8:00 pm and, more commonly, 9:00 pm. (This was probably the most challenging part of their visit as there wasn’t anything I could do to make this part of the experience more “accommodating”)

2.       The scarcity of toilet paper in public bathrooms and paper products in general [mostly at restaurants].   (I was pretty prepared for this one, carrying lots of extra pañelos)

3.       The abundant number of stray dogs to be found in the streets of any city that you visit. (At this point, I’m essentially immune to recognizing this)

4.       How comfortable the overnight bus seats actually were! A pleasant surprise for them.

5.       The lack of central heat in the country. Contrasted with…

6.       How warm it can be, even in winter. It was probably in the 50’s [around 13 celcius] every day while they visited. (That said, it has gotten rather cold here this week and definitely feels more like winter)

7.       House roofs. Shingles don’t exactly exist here like in the US; most roofs are made of something called chapa, a type of ceramic tile.

8.       Reasonable/cheap prices for a bottle of wine (Obviously we’re all a fan of this one)

9.       How motorcycles seem to have no traffic laws to follow as they zoom in and out of traffic and through intersections.

10.   Lack of facilities, both public and private, as compared to what they are usually accustomed to. This example mostly comes from my mom’s visit to the emergency room.

So there you have it. A week in Argentina with (almost all) the Young family. I’m so glad my parents were able to visit here, and even though we didn’t visit my home in northern Argentina, I know my parents experienced a good piece of Argentina.